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Domaine Le Briseau

Patapon Rouge 2020

Price: $33.95
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Tasting notes

Pineau d'Aunis is one of the Loire's rarest red grapes, and Patapon is a textbook example of what it can do: pale ruby, almost weightless on the palate, but loaded with black pepper, tart cherry, and stony mineral bite. The semi-carbonic winemaking keeps it bright and juicy without sacrificing the variety's distinctive spice and grip.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
CherryBlack PepperWild StrawberryFlint
  • Style: Light-bodied natural red; pale translucent ruby; cherry, black pepper, flint; 13% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Pineau d'Aunis; organic and biodynamic; clay-silica soils over Turonian limestone with embedded flint; Marçon, northern Touraine
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested; foot-trodden; spontaneous semi-carbonic maceration ~3 weeks; bottled unfined and unfiltered; minimal sulfur (~2g/hL); Vin de France
  • Serving: Serve lightly chilled at 55-58°F; no decanting needed
  • Pairing: Charcuterie, grilled pork sausages, lamb cutlets, Camembert, aged goat cheese
  • Similar To: For fans of Gamay and Trousseau who want something peppery, mineral, and Loire-specific

Patapon Rouge is 100% Pineau d'Aunis sourced from organically and biodynamically farmed vines in Marçon, within the Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir zone of northern Touraine. The vines grow in clay and silica soils over a subsoil of Turonian limestone so dense with embedded flint it shatters the tools used to work it — the source of the domaine's name, "Le Briseau." The wine is declassified to Vin de France because the biodynamic farming methods do not conform to AOC regulations.

Grapes are hand-harvested in small boxes and foot-trodden whole or partially destemmed depending on the vintage. Spontaneous semi-carbonic maceration runs for approximately three weeks in vats, followed by pressing and completion of fermentation in vessel. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with a minimal sulfur addition of around 2g/hL.

In the glass, Patapon Rouge is a pale, translucent ruby. The nose leads with tart red cherry, wild strawberry, black pepper, and anise — the hallmark aromatics of Pineau d'Aunis. The palate is light-bodied with searing acidity, soft tannins, and a flinty, mineral-driven finish with a hint of garrigue. Patapon is the name of a clown character from a French children's nursery rhyme, and the label carries the motto "Vigneron Non Conforme."

Nathalie Gaubicher now runs the domaine with the help of a full-time vineyard worker and returns for pruning, harvest, and vinification. The wine is imported in the United States by Louis Dressner Selections.

Serve lightly chilled at 55-58°F. Pairs well with charcuterie, grilled pork sausages, and lamb cutlets — the grape's peppery character cuts through fatty meats cleanly. Also works with soft-ripened cheeses like Camembert or aged goat cheese.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Pineau d'Aunis
Farming:, Organic and Biodynamic
Vintage:, 2020
Alcohol:, 13%
Country:, France
Region:, Loire Valley
Appellation:, Vin de France
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


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If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Domaine Le Briseau

Domaine Le Briseau was founded in 2002 by Christian Chaussard and Nathalie Gaubicher in Marçon, in the Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir area of northern Touraine. Chaussard was a former viticulture and oenology teacher in Amboise and an early practitioner of natural winemaking in the Loire, having made his first zero-sulfur pétillant naturel wines at his Vouvray estate in the 1990s before a series of climatic and financial setbacks forced him to leave. Gaubicher is a Swiss-born actress who earned both oenologist and sommelier diplomas before co-founding the domaine.

The estate started with four hectares planted mainly to Chenin Blanc and Pineau d'Aunis, on clay and silica soils over Turonian limestone subsoil. By 2007 the estate had grown to 11 hectares. All vineyard work follows organic principles — no pesticides, insecticides, or chemical fertilizers — with nettle and horsetail decoctions sprayed on foliage and copper used at less than 5kg per hectare. In 2006, the estate began converting to biodynamic farming. Christian Chaussard was also president of the AVN (Association des Vins Naturels) for five years and was an influential figure to a generation of Loire natural winemakers. He died tragically in a tractor accident on the estate in September 2012.

Since 2012, Nathalie Gaubicher has continued the project, now with a full-time vineyard employee, returning herself for pruning, harvest, and vinification. She has since remarried fellow vigneron Emile Hérédia, who runs Domaine des Dimanches in the Languedoc, and currently manages the estate at approximately 6.3 hectares. The winemaking philosophy remains unchanged: hand harvest, foot-treading, spontaneous fermentation, and minimal to no sulfur at bottling.

Wine region

Loire Valley, France

Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir are the northernmost appellations in the Loire Valley, situated in the Sarthe department between Le Mans and Tours, roughly 28 miles north of Vouvray. The vineyards sit on steep south-facing slopes protected from northern winds by the Bercé forest, creating multiple microclimates within a cool, temperate Touraine base climate. Soils are predominantly clay and silica over a subsoil of Turonian limestone (tuffeau) that decomposes into flint-rich clays — the flint imparts the characteristic minerality found in wines from this zone.

Jasnières received AOC status in 1937 and covers just 61 to 80 hectares of vines across two communes, Lhomme and Ruillé-sur-Loir, planted exclusively with Chenin Blanc for white wine. Coteaux-du-Loir, granted AOC status in 1948, extends across 22 communes and allows Pineau d'Aunis as the primary grape for its reds and rosés. Pineau d'Aunis is a historic Loire variety, native to the region, that had nearly disappeared under pressure from more commercially favored grapes but has seen renewed interest as demand for lighter, high-acid reds has grown. Domaine Le Briseau's Patapon Rouge is labeled Vin de France rather than Coteaux-du-Loir because the domaine's biodynamic farming practices fall outside AOC compliance requirements.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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